Fey and Cosette started toward us, growling.

“No!” Emile shouted, pointing at Monroe. “Forget the girl. This man is who we want. Dax, fall back. Let the others leave. It doesn’t matter. There’s nowhere to run.”

He turned his gaze back on Monroe. “We have more important business to take care of. Personal business.”

Dax slowly backed away from us, still snarling. Fey and Cosette took up positions alongside Ren, barring any path of escape Monroe might have had.

“Connor,” Monroe called in a steady voice as the four wolves closed in on him. “Take Calla and run.”

Connor stared at Monroe, wild-eyed. “No.”

“Now, Connor.” Monroe didn’t take his eyes off Ren. “That’s an order.”

“I will not.” Connor’s voice shook. “It’s not worth it. It can’t be.”

“It is,” Monroe said quietly. “You knew this was a possibility. Now get the girl out of here. And don’t try to come back for me.”

I was so startled I shifted back into human form. “No!”

Emile began to laugh. Ren still crouched between his father and the Searcher, his charcoal eyes blazing as he watched Monroe lower his swords.

“I won’t hurt the boy,” Monroe said. “You know that.”

“I guessed it,” Emile said, eyes flicking to the snarling young wolves. “Make sure he doesn’t escape. It’s time for Ren to avenge his mother.”

“Ren, don’t! He’s lying. It’s all lies!” I shrieked. “Come with us!”

“She’s not one of us any longer,” Emile hissed. “Think of how she’s treated you, how she turned her back on all of us. Taste the air, boy. She stinks of the Searchers. She’s a traitor and a whore.”

He glared at me and I stumbled back at the livid fire in his eyes. “Don’t worry, pretty girl. Your day is coming. Sooner than you think.”

I jerked sideways when Connor grabbed my arm and tugged hard. He pulled me toward the unguarded door.

“We can’t leave him!” I shouted.

“We have to.” Connor stumbled into me as I fought to free myself but quickly regained his balance, locking his arms around me.

“Let me fight!” I struggled, desperate to go back but not wanting to hurt the Searcher who was dragging me away.

“No!” Connor’s face was like stone. “You heard him. We’re gone. And if you go wolf on me, I swear I’ll knock you out!”

“Please.” My eyes burned when I saw Ren’s fangs gleam, and my breath stopped when Monroe dropped his swords.

“What is he doing?” I cried, dodging when Connor tried to grab me again.

“This is his fight now,” he said through clenched teeth. “Notours.”

Ren jumped back as the swords clanged on the ground in front of him. Though his hackles were still raised, his growl died.

“Listen to me, Ren,” Monroe said, crouching to meet Ren at eye level, not looking at the other two wolves bearing down on him with cruel slowness. “You still have a choice. Come with me and know who you really are. Leave all this behind.”

Ren’s short, sharp bark ended in a confused whimper. The other three wolves continued stalking toward the Searcher, undeterred by their enemy having abruptly laid down his arms.

Connor’s arm swung around my neck, catching me in a painful headlock.

“We can’t watch this,” he snapped, slowly wrestling me out of the room.

“Ren, please!” I shouted. “Don’t choose them! Choose me!”

Ren turned at the desperation in my voice, watching Connor pull me through the doorway. He shifted forms, staring bewildered at Monroe’s outstretched hands, and took a step toward him.

“Who are you?”

Monroe’s voice shook. “I’m—”

“Enough! You’re a fool, boy,” Emile snarled at Ren before smiling at Monroe. “Just like your father.”

And then he was leaping through the air, shifting into wolf form—a thick bundle of fur, fangs, and claws. I saw him slam into Monroe, jaws locking around the unarmed man’s throat, a moment before I was whipped around. Connor dragged me back down the hall at a breakneck pace.

I glanced over my shoulder, hoping to see Ren and Monroe emerge together, joining our escape. But all I heard were growls and snarls echoing in the empty space behind us.

TWENTY-THREE

WE’LL NEVER MAKE IT back out. It was a trap. I sobbed as I ran, broken by what I’d seen, by what I now knew. It had always been a trap. Guardians and Keepers would be swarming on the main floor of Eden now, blocking our escape. I ran on, still hand in hand with Connor though my steps felt heavier and heavier, like I was racing through wet cement.

Shouts reached my ears from the room ahead.

Connor flung open the door, shoving me into the Chamber. Any hope I’d been clinging to vanished at the scene we stumbled onto. Guardians pressed their way through the entrance to the eastern cell block two or three at a time. Ethan stood on the dais and fired bolts, laying a barrage of suppressing fire at them as quickly as he could, slowing their approach as they succumbed to the alchemists’ compound swirling through their bloodstream. Wolves swayed on their feet, shook their muzzles, at last slumping onto the stone floor. Those hit by multiple bolts piled one atop the other in the doorway, creating a bottleneck that mercifully slowed the number that could get to us. My packmates were already in the fray, taking on those Guardians one-on-one who’d dodged Ethan’s fire.